Comments on Chronicles of a Novice Writer: Writing Longhand: Tips and Tricks

When I google "longhand novel", your pos...

2012-02-12T09:44:14.291-07:00

When I google "longhand novel", your post is near the top, Stephanie. I am going to try my 'hand"--hee hee--at longhand writing. I've hit a roadblock with the Mac, and it's labyrinth of "save as" and "file" commands, nevermind the lugging it to the library every few days.

Many other famous writers, such as John Irving (Cider House Rules, Garp, etc.) write longhand. Many have hired typists to enter the longhand into the computer. Heck, some--like the late Sidney Sheldon--transcribe their novels. Yes, he literally dictated them. Barbara Cartwright, romance queen, used to have a courtroom stenographer write down her novels. Barbara sat on a couch and stroked her cat and dreamed up the novel No joke!

And should we forget about all the fabulous authors--JD Salinger, Gertrude Stein, FS Fitzgerald, Hemingway, some of the best ever--who had to type directly into a Smith Corona typewriter, one peck at a time. That was before White Out! No wonder the few modern typing writers, like Cormac McCarthy and director Woody Allen, savor their typewriters so divinely: they're almost irreplaceable.

Longhand, by pen, is slower, but more thoughtful. Longhand can be input with Dragon Naturally Speaking v.11, and even if it gets one in 20 words written like alphabet soup, we are going back and editing the entire thing again, right? If you've not tried it, at about $60, it's much better than prior versions, and one can read their longhand into a desktop $20 microphone and save boatloads of keyboard time. That is one tip I might suggest to you, my fellow free-hand writers.

John Irving writes his first drafts in fancy $35 Boorum and Pease bound journals. For the rest of us, stenographer's pads--the kind with spiral bound at the top and flippable for a flat lay on the desk--work wonders, and can easily poise on a monitor side stand for easy transcribing. Try that with a leather bound journal.

Many, from my online search this morning, espouse freehand writing as a remedy for computer snags and viruses. But, don't forget, although computers get the sniffles with a virus and might lose our hard work in one massive "ka-choo", paper is not forever.

Just ask my neighbor down the way whose house is now cinders after their cat, Jinxy, kicked over a tea candle.

I so admire you for all of this. Nice tips!

2011-11-23T08:46:28.942-07:00

I so admire you for all of this. Nice tips!

I find that I write differently when I write long ...

2011-11-19T18:02:23.062-07:00

I find that I write differently when I write long had versus on the computer. When I want to write in a freer, stream of conscious format, I will use the pen and paper route. I think after writing all those college essays, I look at the computer in a formal manner. Plus with al the spell checking and editing features, the computer forces you to edit as you go along, thus disrupting your thought flow.

I like using the pen and paper route. I always carry a notebook with me. I tend to buy in bulk during sales time. This last batch are covered in handmade paper that I got from a going out of business sale. Very pretty and since they are hard bound, very sturdy. Makes writing enjoyable. And isn't that the point?

Thanks for the great tips on transcription. I will definitely start using them!

I happened upon Piccadilly Journals in the discoun...

2011-11-19T17:29:49.273-07:00

I happened upon Piccadilly Journals in the discount section of the former (sobs) Borders Bookstore. An inner voice told me to stock up on them, so I have a reserve. There's something freeing about writing longhand. The smell of the ink, your hand gliding across the page. I use the colored Mead Marble notebooks for longhand writing of Morning Pages, blog titles and rough drafts and film shorts.

I'm particular about pens as well. The ink has to flow and settle onto the page as if it were invisible at first.

Good tips! I am super picky about notebooks if I a...

2011-11-18T14:43:26.743-07:00

Good tips! I am super picky about notebooks if I am going to write long hand.

Jem, I've seen something like it online. But I...

2011-11-17T16:21:04.841-07:00

Jem, I've seen something like it online. But I can't remember where. (That's the problem with the stumble button.)

Angie, LOL. It can feel overwhelming but just do it in batches. It's all about what works for you. Like I said, I started transcribing one notebook just as soon as I finished it and started filling the second.

Great advice. My preferred notebook is the Mead fi...

2011-11-17T14:52:51.894-07:00

Great advice. My preferred notebook is the Mead five-star advance. Durable vinyl covers and a covering sewn over the binding, plus a little elastic to hold a pen on the front. Perfect! I get five subject notebooks for the novels. I used two on the last one. I see your point about transcribing, but I feel so overwhelmed trying to type a novel all at once, that I've been doing it as I go this time and for me that works a lot better.

Man am I impressed by your dedication to longhand....

2011-11-17T09:08:44.213-07:00

Man am I impressed by your dedication to longhand. I used to write that way as a kid because I didn't have a choice, but I'm addicted to my netbook now. I actually end up carrying it with me everywhere like a book :). I feel like Penny from Inspector Gadget with her book computer. If someone made a computer that looked like an actual book when you closed it I would be ALL over that!